1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to pipe cleaning machines and more particularly to a power driven machine for storing and rotatively feeding and retracting flexible plumbers snakes or springs formed of helically wound spring wire.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Several types of hand and power driven pipe cleanout machines have been developed. One of the most successful is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,095,592, issued to Robert G. Hunt. This machine embodied an independently rotatable combination torque reaction element and guide tube which extended into the storage reel from the front of the machine and cooperated therewith to guide the spring in and out of the storage reel and to prevent kinking thereof due to torque build-up.
As will become apparent from the discussion which follows, in the machine of the present invention, the forward portion of the one-piece storage reel performs the guiding function of the Hunt guide tube while the torque reaction element which is a separate element rotatably mounted within the reel performs the torque reaction function of the Hunt guide tube and cooperates with the storage reel to effectively prevent the spring from reverse looping. Additionally, since the torque reaction element is a separate element rotatably mounted on the frame and extending into the rearwardly open storage reel, the storage reel or cartridge can readily be demounted from the machine without interference. This enables the expeditious quick-change of reels, for example, to reels housing snakes of different sizes, without the necessity of the time-consuming and cumbersome removal of parts from the apparatus.
An additional advantage of the construction of the machine of the present invention is that when the machine is placed into a dwell, or non-feeding mode, the coil spring and the reel can be locked against relative rotation by merely adjusting a set screw carried by the forward or guide portion of the reel.